Beatriz Williams is a must read author for me. She is the queen of dual time lines and tying everything together is an amazing book. This book is no exception. I loved the characters and being on Winthrop Island again. I loved this book and look forward to the author's next book! I received an advanced readers copy and all opinions are my own.

“That’s how love works. Love does not keep a balance sheet. Love does not keep score. Love just gives.”

2.5 stars. The last two books i have read by Beatriz Williams have been 5 ⭐️ reads! But boy oh boy did I struggle with this one. I had to restart the audiobook like 5 times because my mind was wandering and I had a hard time getting drawn in or staying invested.

Three women. Three stories. Three different timelines. This style of writing is usually a win win win for me so it pains me to say that this book was a huge miss. The storylines didn’t mesh the way I’m used to from the author.

Providence’s storyline was the most interesting to me and the one I wish the whole book focused on. This book was so slow I almost wanted to listen at greater than 2x speed just to get to the point. Ugh I’m devastated because I normally devour her stories.

I am definitely in the minority here because the reviews I’ve seen are overwhelmingly positive. But not every book is for every person and this one is just not for me. I will continue to pick up any book by this author, though.

The audiobook is done very well with SIX narrators. There are a lot of characters so this really helps in keeping them all straight.

Thank you @PRHAudio for the complimentary audiobook and to @Netgalley and @ballantinebooks for the complimentary ARC.

I love how Beatriz Williams' novels are interconnected but not so much that I have to reread her last book before starting her new one. For me, she is the queen of split narrative historical fiction and this one didn't disappoint!

Three women, three stories. Meredith, an actress trying to get sober to save her career so she returns to Winthrop Island (reluctantly) for the summer with her daughter Audrey as her caretaker. Neither really wants to return, but it is a quiet enough place for Meredith to remain on her sobriety path. Audrey, an aspiring chef who has lost everything because of her con man husband. And Providence, a servant from a century before who ran from her home after a tragedy and ends up on a boat that famously sinks near Winthrop. Once on Winthrop, Audrey helps her estranged father with his bar and finds a trunk holding secrets from their past. We learn, through Providence’s diary, of the series of events that brought
Providence to the boat. Through flashbacks we also learn about Meredith’s past. Once secrets are discovered and revealed Audrey and Meredith can move forward.

I loved that Williams has a similar approach as Taylor Jenkins Reid where she has past characters meet in the newer novel. A few of her last novels have taken place on Winthrop Island and so the character flow into each story is pretty seamless. There are really three timelines, Providence’s, Meredith’s past and the present with Audrey and Meredith and I actually loved all of them. In pure transparency it did take me longer to enjoy the Providence chapters but by the end I was excited to get to those as well. This is another beautiful story of women past and present, and how their lives intertwine. Williams is now definitely an auto-buy author for me. The audio was wonderful for this one, I probably half and halved it, enjoying both the book and the audio equally.

4.25 stars

Thank you to Ballantine and NetGalley for the ARC to review

When a daughter and her famous mother return to Winthrop Island to confront their complicated past, they discover a secret trove of paintings that connect them to a mysterious woman who vanished on a luxury steamship two centuries earlier.

There are so many great parts to this story. I loved the flashbacks to Providence Dare and the shipwreck of 1846. Then there is the drama between Audrey and Meredith. Add in the drama between Audrey and Mike…and you have some good family matchups with some great secrets. Oh, and you can’t forget the budding romance between Audrey and Sedge. Oh and one more thing…the drama of finding a bit of lost treasure. You heard me…you must read this to find out!

Like I said, I loved so much about this book. But honestly, I think the characters are some of the best! Mike is one of my all time favorites. I swear…I think he lives in my Mississippi town. He is so relatable. Then there is Audrey. She is a bit broken but it does not stop her…y’all I could go on all day with these characters…just read the book. You will not be sorry!

Need a story which has a little bit of everything…THIS IS IT! Grab your copy today.

I received this novel from the publisher for a honest review

After Husbands & Lovers by Beatriz Williams was one of my favorite books I read last year, I was so excited to be able to return to Winthrop Island in her next book, Under the Stars. And it did not disappoint! I didn’t expect so many characters & places to play such a prominent role in this book, and I may have squealed with excitement over each one 😂😍

This time we meet Audrey Fisher, who reluctantly returns to Winthrop Island with her glamorous movie star mother, Meredith, who needs to hide out somewhere secluded before her Hollywood comeback. Audrey, also dealing with some major issues in her life, plans to get off the island as soon she needs to get her mother onto the movie set, but she’s also forming some close relationships with people on the island.

Beatriz Williams once again brilliantly weaves multiple timelines into one brilliant story: Audrey in current day, Meredith in the 90s, and an account of the 1846 shipwreck of the Steamship Atlantic. How does that last one fit into the story? You’ll have to read to find out! I loved the mystery, the romances, and how everything intertwined perfectly. I also was surprised to learn the shipwreck actually happened when I read the author notes. Learning about lesser known moments in history

Even though not technically a series, I can’t wait to go back and read the other 2 Winthrop Island books to meet the previous generation! And I hope we get to go back more in the future.

Thank you to Ballantine and NetGalley for providing the ARC for my honest review!

(4.5 stars)

Thank you to Ballantine Books for the free ARC via NetGalley. All opinions are my own.

I'm happy to say I finally read a Beatriz Williams book and I really enjoyed it! Under the Stars was an intriguing cross-genre story. I know dual timelines are relatively common in historical fiction, but this book gives the reader three timelines all centered on fictional Winthrop Island: a shipwreck in 1846, future actress Meredith Fisher as a young adult in 1991, and Meredith back for rehab under the supervision of her adult daughter Audrey in 2024. Considering how much ground there was to cover I thought the book did a great job of keeping the reader engaged with the events of each timeline.

I went into this book knowing very little about the plot, so I'm going to leave out most of the details here too. I really enjoyed the sense of mystery throughout the story along with the emotional family dynamics, especially in the most modern storyline. Meredith and Audrey do not have a traditional mother-daughter relationship at all. I liked that the account of that relationship included quite a bit of nuance and wasn't painted in broad strokes based entirely on stereotypes. Meredith was selfish in a lot of ways, but the reader also got to watch her evolve both between 1991 and 2024 and within the 2024 timeline itself.

Lately one way I measure how much I like a book is how quickly I read the second half. Some of my recent favorites are the types of books that, once I get to 50-60% I'm thoroughly engaged and I need to finish as soon as I can manage. That definitely happened here as I felt the threads of the story coming together and needed to see how everything played out.

I also felt some personal connections to the setting of this one. I grew up in Connecticut and spent time along the southeastern shore of the state with my parents when I was a teenager. It was fun to see lots of geographical references to places I know and to learn in the author's note that Winthrop Island is loosely based on a real island I remember seeing (but not actually visiting) in Long Island Sound.

Finally, I know that other Beatriz Williams books, including Husbands & Lovers, are set at least partially on Winthrop Island. In an ideal world I would have read H&L first to pick up on some of the Easter eggs I've heard about, but I can say as a newcomer that this absolutely works as a standalone. I can't wait to read more Beatriz Williams books soon!

Thanks to NetGalley and the author for an arc. This is my first book from this author and I really enjoyed it. It got my interest from the very beginning, switching back and forth between the current story and a past story about a woman on a ship wreck. The two finally came together in the end and it was a good time with some mystery, romance and a good story.

After reading the description, we could not wait to read this book before its release! Unfortunately, it picked up speed just too little too late for our liking. Maybe it had one too many perspectives? We couldn’t get into this like we have for many of her other stories. We did love all the nods she made to her prior works! Beatriz Williams is the queen of an Easter egg!

This weekend I went back to Winthrop Island. Well, I did within the pages of Beatriz Williams’ latest book. We follow three women across centuries, and the complex family secrets in modern-day New England.
It’s Beatriz, of course I liked it! Welcome back ton Winthrop Island.
Thank you, Ballantine Books and Gallery Books, for an advance review copy. #UndertheStars #NetGalley

It pains me to write this review because I didn’t enjoy this book as much as I had hoped to. The story was incredibly well written, as is everything by Beatriz Williams, and the character development was a chef’s kiss. But parts of the plot felt lazy and convenient, and the continued coincidences were too much. I was entertained by this book, but wasn’t in love with it.

Quick recap without spoilers:
Audrey Fisher is forced to bail her famous mother, Meredith Fisher, out of trouble and help Meredith sober up in their family’s New England Island home. Audrey, a chef, finds work at her estranged father’s bar, which is where she discovers an old wooden chest with roots to a shipwreck in 1846 and paintings featuring Providence Dare, a descendant of many on their now island home. The present and historical stories unfold in a way that ties the centuries together in this tale of thrills, romance, and history.

Thank you to Random House Publishing Group = Balentine, and to NetGalley for the advance copy. I will post a review of the week of the book's release on my page.

Beatriz Williams does it again! I loved Husbands & Lovers so I knew I wanted to read Under the Stars. It's a family saga covering over 200 years of secrets around the New England coast. Audrey Fisher and her famous, alcoholic mother, Meredith, return to Winthrop Island to let her mother dry out before she ruins her career. There they have to confront their complicated past. While on Winthrop, Audrey discovers an old wooden chest among her estranged father's things. It is full of paintings by a famous artist that are over 200 years old. How did they get in the cellar of the inn that has been in her dad's family for generations? This book has three different timelines and several different perspectives but once I caught on, I couldn't put it down. Thanks to @NetGalley for the ARC of this book. I loved it!

One November night in 1846, Providence Dare flees Boston and boards the luxury steamship Atlantic, running from the law, or so she believes. But when a catastrophic accident leaves the ship at the mercy of a mighty gale, Providence finds herself trapped in a deadly game of cat and mouse with the one man who knows her real identity—the detective investigating the suspicious death of her employer, In present day, Meredith Fisher’s career is on the line thanks to her drinking, and her agent needs to send her somewhere remote to sober up and get her life together. She enlists Meredith's daughter Audrey, who is a world class chef, and is also going through some personal and professional issues, to take Meredith to Winthrop Island for the summer. While she is there, Audrey reunites with her estranged father, MIke Kennedy, Audrey discovers an old wooden chest among the belongings of her estranged bartender father, and the astonishing contents draw the women deep into Winthrop’s past and its many secrets…attracting the interest of their handsome neighbor, Sedge Peabody. How did a trove of paintings from one of America’s greatest artists wind up in the cellar of the Mohegan Inn? And who is the mysterious woman portrayed on every canvas?

I normally love this author's books, but this one fell a little short of expectations for me. It was a slow burn for the entire book, and I just had a hard time connecting with the characters. Overall, it wasn't a bad book, just not great. That said, I look forward to future books by this author.

My thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for this early review copy.

Williams' latest novel takes us back to Winthrop Island. I really enjoyed this, although it's not my favorite of the Winthrop Island books (but I REALLY loved some of those, so that bar is set very high!)

When the novel opens, on July 30, 2024, Isobel Fisher's granddaughter, professional chef Audrey, is called by police to identify the dead body of Harlan Walker. (Who is Harlan Walker? We don't know, yet.) And then we are brought back to April 22, 2024 when Audrey reluctantly first arrives on Winthrop Island with her mother in tow, famous actress and newly sober Meredith Fisher. The plan is to hole up in Greyfriars for a few months, until August, and help Meredith recover from her alcoholism so that she can carry on with her mostly successful acting career.

Audrey's chapters are interspersed with a story from young Providence Dare, under an assumed name Mary West, on the run from the law in Connecticut for an unspecified crime she presumably did not commit, boards the steamship <i>Atlantic</i> which founders and sinks off the coast of Winthrop Island on November 25, 1846.

There are also chapters from Meredith's POV, in July 1993, when she was a teen and newly in love (was it love?) with Audrey's father, Mike Kennedy.

At first, the time jumps annoyed me, I wanted to spend more time with each of the characters and not have to jump back and forth. It also felt odd that two of the timelines were (more or less) present day and the third was far in the past, set during a real life disaster. But I liked all three of the main characters, so I dove in. It took me a while to warm up to prickly Audrey, and I never fully understood Meredith. Providence felt like the most fully formed character here. I liked Sedgewick, but we didn't spend enough time with Audrey and Sedgewick for their romance to feel real. He was just a nice handsome guy with a sexy car.

Coop Walker makes an appearance in Meredith's 1993 story - I feel like he was in another book, but I can't pinpoint which one. "Uncle Joe and Aunt Miranda" (from [book:The Summer Wives|36381085]) merit a mention in Meredith's memories, and Mallory and Monk (from [book:Husbands & Lovers|199223201]) are significant supporting characters here.

I made myself a bit crazy trying to figure out the family trees and remember tiny details from past books. I wish Williams had published a spoilers-included tree! I ended up creating one for myself, for all four Winthrop Island books. These Winthrop Island books apparently exist in an alternate universe to the Schuyler Sisters books, since multiple times Meredith Fisher is noted to have starred in a movie based on those books. She is said to be the actress who was cast as Pepper in <i>Tiny Little Thing</i> and <i>Along the Infinite Sea</i>, and also starred in <i>The Golden Hour</i> and <i>Her Last Flight</i> and <i>Our Woman in Moscow</i>, presumably placing all of those stories firmly in the fictional realm for the Winthrop Island folks. What's confusing here is the existence of Miranda Schuyler in THESE books. How can Miranda Schuyler be both second cousin to those Schuyler sisters, AND exist in this world where the Schuyler sisters are fiction? Even more confusing, Sumner Fox of Our Woman in Moscow investigates Olive Rainsford, who is part of the Winthrop Island world, and is Sedgewick's great great aunt.

<i>The Atlantic</i> was a real steamship which really did run aground on Fishers Island after a boiler accident in the Long Island Sound.

It's a bit odd that Audrey calls Meredith "Meredith" instead of mom (and she calls Mike "Mike" instead of dad) and that made it difficult for me to remember they were two generations, and who was the mother and who was the daughter.

Both Mike Kennedy and Sedgewick Peabody are descended from Winthrops, which had me wondering if they are cousins? And, in that case, are Sedgewick and Audrey cousins?

This was a rich blend of historical fiction and mystery with a tolerable amount of romance stirred in. I say that as romance is not a favorite genre of mine.

Something that surprised me was that the oldest timeline (there were three) was the story of a New England shipwreck in 1846 and I found it fascinating. Usually I do not enjoy reading about ships, trains or submarines. Sounds like I have a bit of claustrophobia even when I am reading!

A well developed storyline let alone 3 timelines are difficult to manage but to also write interesting characters who develop well along the storyline are a thing of creative artistry.

In this novel Williams has fiesty women, a knight in shining armor and morally grey characters which are always fun to read, at least for me they are. The characters were constantly surprising me with their decisions and behavior.

This intriguing novel wove family history, mystery and romance in a most satisfying way.

The way that the author wound the book to it's end was also quite satisfying. Would love to talk about it but I don't add spoilers to my reviews.

I want to thank Beatriz Williams, her publisher Ballantine Books and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this advanced copy of Under the Stars.

Audrey’s husband has just walked out on her and their restaurant business, taken all their money and left her deeply in debt. Her movie star mother is an aging alcoholic who desperately needs a new role to get her back on track and add needed funds to her bank account. With nothing left to lose, Audrey agrees to go with her mother to their Summer house on Winthrop Island and do what is needed to keep her mother sober.

In another timeline, Prudence Dare has boarded a ship to escape a possible arrest, but an astute detective has followed her on board. As a terrible storm comes up, Prudence and the detective are forced to help each other as the ship crashes into the rocky coast of Winthrop Island, killing many of those on board.

For the first part of the story, I could not imagine how these two storylines connected, but as I kept reading, I was soon immersed in a story where past and present and the people of Winthrop Island merge together. This was a treasure hunt, mystery and romance all rolled up into one interesting tale that I thoroughly enjoyed.

Many thanks to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group-Ballantine for allowing me to read an advance copy. I am happy to recommend this to other readers and give my honest review.

Williams returns to Winthrop Island with a story about a dysfunctional mother-daughter relationship alongside a mystery surrounding an 1846 shipwreck. There are actually three timelines going on in this novel - journals from a woman who survived the shipwreck; the current timeline where famous actress Meredith and her chef daughter Audrey are staying together on Winthrop Island to try to dry out Meredith for a big movie role (and this timeline has a lot going on in it); and then Meredith's teen years when she was involved in a boating accident as well as getting pregnant with Audrey. I enjoyed this book, but not quite as much as some of Williams's previous ones. It felt like there were just a few too many plots jammed in, and a lot of the chapters would end with some mystery person entering the room - and then cut to a different timeline/storyline, so by the time I got back to that earlier timeline I constantly had to flip back to see how it had ended. I think if you're going to juggle three timelines, it's better to not end each section on any sort of mystery or revelation; they just don't have the same impact as they would in a chronological novel. I certainly still enjoyed the novel, though the 1846 storyline was definitely my least favorite. Thank you to NetGalley and Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books for a digital review copy.

Beatriz Williams has become one of my go to authors. This dual timeline had it all. Love, mystery , thrill. The story follows Meredith Fisher and her daughter in the current timeline. Meredith is a famous actress who needs to “dry out”. Her daughter Audrey, recently abandoned by her no good husband is, taking care of her. Providence Dare is our early timeline. Accused of murder she sets sail on an over night cruise to New York that turns deadly.

Under the Stars had a slow start for me. But having read other books by this author i knew it would pick up. Loved the ending on this one Thank you NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the early digital ARC.

Time spent on Winthrop Island is never what you expect. In this latest installment from Beatriz Williams, we accompany Audrey Fisher and her movie star mother back to the island after Meredith’s stay in rehab. Audrey and Meredith have a complicated relationship so the prospect of a summer together on the sleepy vacation destination doesn’t sound ideal; especially since Audrey is reeling from her husband’s betrayal.

Like all Williams’s books, UNDER THE STARS crosses genres to create a sweeping tale of intrigue, mystery, and romance with a bit of historical fiction to deepen the plot. The present day POV is augmented by a timeline thirty years in the past and one three generations back to the shipwreck that changed the history of the island and still reverberates in the present.

Williams fans will delight in the Easter eggs scattered throughout the book, along with appearances from beloved characters from Husbands & Lovers; while newcomers will enjoy the complex web of connections she spins.

The first half of the book moves fairly slowly, but once the action picks up, the pace quickens considerably. I’m a big fan of Williams’s writing because her characters are always complex and richly drawn. This book is no exception. I hope she plans a return visit because Winthrop Island has become an annual destination.

Thank you to NetGalley and Ballantine Books for the advance copy. All opinions are my own.

Beatriz Williams take a dysfunctional present-day family and an 1846 shipwreck on Winthrop Island into a must read. A little mystery, a little love, lots of intrigue and the thought of how this all ties in into a wonderful read. Three generations of women come to light in this tale. Providence Dare is on a luxury steamship traveling from Boston to New York only to find herself in the fight of her life as an accident causes the ship to tear apart and sink near Winthrop Island. Audrey Fisher has always been taking care of her movie star mother, Meredith Fisher. As the two of them return to Winthrop Island for Meredith to dry out and prepare for her next starring role, real life happens. There are flashbacks into their lives to add to their characters. But oh boy, what a read. It all comes together at the end of the book, but it is a wild ride. Highly recommend.